


Gather Together

by Namarie



Category: West Wing
Genre: Episode Related, Gen, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-18
Updated: 2011-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-26 05:38:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namarie/pseuds/Namarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Should I bring anything?” “Yeah. Do you know how to, you know, cook food?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gather Together

**Author's Note:**

> A fairly fluffy holiday piece that I couldn't resist writing after rewatching "Shibboleth."  
> Thanks to D for the beta!

~

CJ arrives at Toby's place at about eleven. She's done enough research ahead of time to know that the earliest possible time for a football game to start today is 12:30 – or at least she's pretty sure of that. She couldn't tell you for sure who's playing, but that's not all that important, as far as she can tell.

When Toby opens the door, he looks faintly surprised. “Is that all you brought?”

CJ glares at him, and shifts the two pumpkin pies in her arms so she can push past him without dropping them. “What were you expecting – a fully-cooked turkey? Maybe some rolls, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce to go with it? You know, just because I'm a woman--”

“Yeah,” Toby interrupts, “but it's just that Josh and Sam don't know how to cook a turkey. Neither do I. And it is kind of traditional.”

She sets the pies down on the counter in his rather small kitchen, and then turns to give him a look as Sam comes in from the TV room. “I may have been out sick last year, but I am fully aware that turkey is the traditional meal on Thanksgiving, Toby.”

He nods, still looking at her expectantly. “Okay.”

“Hi, CJ,” Sam says. He looks at the pies, and then he looks worried. “Is that all we're having?”

CJ rolls her eyes but decides to relent. “Surprisingly, there was one deli in driving distance that still had turkey available. It's not a whole turkey, but it's not sliced sandwich meat, either, so at least we're one step up from totally pathetic. I left it in the back seat of my car. How about one of you men do your manly duty, and go out and get it?”

“I'll get it,” Sam offers. She tosses him her car keys, and he departs.

“Where's Josh?” CJ asks, as she takes off her coat and sets down her purse.

Toby takes the coat from her and goes to hang it up. “Believe it or not, in my capacity as host on this festive occasion, I did remember a few rules for this kind of thing,” he tells her. “I told him to bring some rolls and some kind of vegetable. Sam brought some snacks.”

“Well, good,” CJ replies as she follows him out to the TV room. The TV is already on, though it's currently muted. It looks like some sports commentators are sharing their opinions about the upcoming game. CJ is relieved that it's muted. There are very few sports commentators who she can stand. “And did you contribute anything yourself?”

“Of course,” he says, raising his eyebrows. He points to the dining room table, which has several bags of chips, some salsa and other dips, and a bowl of Chex Mix. “I bought the Chex Mix. Sam brought all the rest.”

CJ snorts. “So we're having a semi-traditional Thanksgiving dinner, as well as a whole table full of assorted junk food?”

Toby just says, “CJ, we're watching football,” as if that should explain everything.

“Uh huh.” She regards him with amusement, and then walks over to the table to pick out a pretzel from the snack mix. “So what you're saying is, there are different levels of tradition being upheld here.”

“That's exactly what I'm saying,” Toby replies.

Before CJ can continue this conversation, there's the sound of the front door opening, and Sam comes in holding the turkey. “You know, I'm a little disappointed that it's already cut up,” he remarks, tossing CJ's keys back to her and setting the day's main course on the kitchen counter. “I was kind of hoping to try my hand at carving a turkey.”

“Do you know how to carve a turkey?” asks Toby.

“Well, no,” Sam admits, “but that's why I wanted to try it.”

“You should ask the President for a lesson sometime,” CJ says. She thinks the President – or Charlie, rather – did eventually find the perfect carving knife yesterday, but she isn't sure. “Apparently there's a real art to both the knife selection and the actual activity. I'm sure he would be only too happy to describe both processes to you in great detail.”

“I'm sure he would.” Then Sam stares at CJ in horror. “Wait. When we go back to work, please don't tell him that I wanted to know how to carve a turkey. I'm really fine with it being already carved. And since I haven't said so already, thank you, by the way, for bringing the turkey today.”

CJ grins and says, “I make no promises. Although it's a long weekend, so if you're very nice to me, maybe I'll have forgotten by the time I next see the President.”

Sam opens his mouth, but then he just nods and closes it without saying anything.

The doorbell rings. Toby goes to open it, revealing a harried-looking Josh. “Do you have any idea what a madhouse any grocery store becomes on Thanksgiving Day?” he demands, barely waiting a second to let Toby move aside so he can enter. “Suffice it to say, I risked my life to get these rolls and these carrots, so you guys better be appropriately grateful.”

“And you couldn't have, I don't know, gone to the store a few days ago,” Toby asks mildly, “when it might have been less of a madhouse?”

Josh blinks at him. “Well, that would have involved planning ahead.”

“Yes.” Toby waits.

“And planning ahead would have involved remembering to tell Donna so she would have remembered to remind me,” Josh finishes with a self-deprecating shrug.

“So instead you waited until today, which means you're bringing us--” CJ takes the shopping bag out of his hands, looks inside under the rolls, and then stares at him with raised eyebrows. “Really, Josh? You really just bought a bunch of carrots?”

Josh shrugs again. “Toby said get a vegetable. Carrots are vegetables, and you can eat them raw so they're not complicated.”

“Good thinking,” Sam says – and to all appearances, he's being utterly serious.

CJ throws up her hands. “All right, fine, whatever. We'll have carrot sticks with our junk food, rolls, pre-sliced turkey, and pumpkin pie.” She supposes she should have known what she was getting herself into by coming to Toby's house for Thanksgiving while the boys watched football.

“Sounds like a balanced meal to me,” Josh remarks, and the others agree. CJ just has to shake her head and laugh.

~

It's about kickoff time. Toby, Sam, and Josh are all seated in front of the TV already. CJ is at the table getting a handful of chips and carrot sticks (they balance each other out, she's sure). The turkey is warming up in the oven, and there's a saucepan of gravy on the stove, made from some mix that Toby had in the back of his pantry. “So who are we rooting for in this game?” she asks the room at large.

“The Yankees,” Toby answers right away – and CJ doesn't even have to be looking at them to know that Josh and Sam are hiding smiles.

“Look, I know I'm not exactly a sports fanatic,” CJ says dryly as she brings her plate back to her seat, “but I know the Yankees are a baseball team, not a football team. So if you three aren't going to get enough entertainment out of watching a televised sporting event in a few minutes, I'm not going to provide you with whatever entertainment you're lacking.”

Sam says something quietly to Josh, at which they both snicker, but then Sam stops very quickly at CJ's glare. “No, the game should be good,” he says.

“Good.” She sits down and looks to her left, where Toby is sitting. “Now, who are we actually rooting for – or do we care?”

Toby gives her an answer, and then he and the others start to debate whether this particular team is worth caring about, or whether what's been happening with the other team's quarterback makes them the ones who deserve attention. CJ listens, smiles, and relaxes. She'd never say it to them, of course, but she wouldn't have wanted to spend this Thanksgiving with anyone else.

~ 


End file.
